Mickey Mantle memorabilia and cards are still the gold standard for post-War era collectors...but that also means those items are an inviting target for crooks.

He's been gone 14 years now, a victim of liver cancer at the relatively young age of 63. Mickey Mantle never could sign enough autographs to satisfy the demand--even when he was still alive and making the baseball card show circuit in the 1980s. His cards are still expensive.

You have to be in your 50s to have good memories of The Mick in his playing days, but he's an icon to Yankee fans of all ages, even with his flaws. Mantle drank too much, could be surly at times and didn't always treat everyone the way they treated him. Yet he was the All-American hero to many while patrolling the Yankee Stadiuim outfield from 1951-68.

Mantle's autograph is one that was a favorite of the forgers in Operation Bullpen several years ago. His signature is still being faked today because it's still valuable.